1. California successfully defended a lawsuit by two environmental NGOS, which challenged its cap and trade program on the ground that emitters could by credit from entities that were not part of the program. A report of the news is available here.

2. New York Governor Cuomo has proposed that the government buy property in some coastal parts that were affected by Hurricane Sandy and preserve the floodprone area as undeveloped coastline. A newslink to the story is available here. Several residents welcome the proposal and the idea of preserving the area instead of re-building appears sound. The question, however, is whether the risk of building in flood prone areas should be borne by private property owners via insurance or by taxpayers. At the same time, given the scale of government response warranted in such instances, taxpayers may ultimately bear the burden in any case. It is a difficult question, which may only get more complex if extreme weather patterns increase.

3. The United States has filed a complaint against India before the WTO for imposing domestic content restrictions as part some of its program to promote solar energy. India is defending the program as a government procurement. A link to the news is available here.